Xavier's Aptitude Test - exam tips and preparation methods

Updated on: Tuesday, January 03, 2012

Q: What are the main areas to prepare for in XAT?

XAT has 3 sections - quantitative and and Interpretation (DI), reasoning including decision making ability and verbal ability including Reading Comprehension (RC). Areas are pretty much similar to CAT - hence, if you have prepared for CAT, it shouldn't be much of a problem. Do surely take some mock XATs.

Q: Is XAT written or online?

It is a paper-pen based test, not an online test. It has 3 sections - quantitative ability (maths) and data interpretation; verbal and logical ability; analytical reasoning incl decision making questions.

Q: Where can I take the mock XAT's?

You can take mock XATs from any of the top coaching institutes who help students prepare for CAT, XAT, etc.

Q: What types of question does decision making have and is GK a part too?

GK is not a part of XAT. Decision making questions involve a given situation which has some problem to be solved; you need to understand the situation and among the options, select the best alternative that should be adopted. When you take some Mock XATs, you get a very good idea about such areas/ questions.

Q: Kindly give tips to tackle Data Interpretation?

Yes, DI sometimes can be difficult/ lengthy and questions may be calculation-intensive. The key is to be good in percentages, ratios and other basic maths concepts and then, follow it up with practicing different types of questions based on line graphs, pie charts, bar graphs, etc.

Q: What are the total marks of the paper and what is a good score?

Last year there were 101 questions - total marks 253. But this can change year to year. Since a good score depends on the difficulty level of the paper, no figure can be mentioned for it. E.g. last year (2011), paper was very difficult and hence, cut-offs were on the lower side.

Q: Are Comprehension and Vocabulary also part of XAT?

Yes, vocabulary based questions as well as RC are a part of XAT. They come in the verbal/logical section.

Q: Are there any changes brought in XAT 2011?

As far as the paper is concerned, no change is known as of now. But, they have said that the cut-offs would be reduced which means comparatively lesser weighting to XAT because they want a better mix of people. Level of difficulty is also expected to be lesser this year.

Q: Is XAT applicable only for Xavier institutes?

XAT is used/accepted by more than 100 B-schools across India. Some of them being XLRI, XIM-B, SP Jain, IMT-Ghaziabad, TAPMI Manipal, IFMR Chennai, GIM Goa, Welingkar Mumbai and Liba Chennai.

Q: Kindly outline the sections that would constitute XAT exam?

Analytical reasoning including decision making - it involves puzzles and situation-based questions; verbal/logic, it has RC, verbal ability like fill in the blanks, Para jumbles, Para completion, reasoning; quant and DI - it has maths (class 10th mostly and some class 12th based) as well as data interpretation which is about answering questions based on given data/graphs/charts/caselets etc.

Q: What should be the strategy for essay writing?

Essay writing requires clear thinking, structured thought process, good argument analysis and effective writing. You may practice writing essays within 20 min and seek feedback from your teachers/experts.

Q: Are there any cut-off marks for any of the 3 sections? Is there negative marking?

Yes, XAT does have sectional cut-offs which are decided based on the marks secured by all students. last year, negative marking was one-fourth of the marks allocated per question.

Q: Which of the Xavier's institutes is better for future prospects? And what are the cut-off scores for each (XLRI and XIM)?

XLRI is undoubtedly the best followed by XIM-B, XIME, XISS and so on. Cut-off percentile last year was 95+ but that can vary every year. Scores obviously depend on the difficulty level of the paper - in an easier paper, cut-offs will go higher.

Q: Is there any rule that says one has to clear each section with a certain mark so that his entire paper is checked?

Checking is computerised and hence, doesn't take time. But for top b-schools you need to clear the sectional cut-off in each section before your total score is considered. Last year, cut-offs were 70 percentile in VA, 90 percentile in QA, 80 percentile in AR.

Q: What is the weighting of XAT?

Last year, XAT got 50% weighting and GD/interview remaining 50%

Besides XAT, what kind of preparation should one do to get an admission into the one of the top Xaviers institutes?

In addition to XAT, b-schools have group discussions and personal interviews. For GD's it requires very good knowledge as well as communication skills. Hence, we advise some mock GD's for each student. For interview, preparation is on your acads/ work exp/ goals/ personality-related/ hobbies etc.

Q: I've got 51% aggregate in my graduation. Do you think there will be any problem in GD and PI?

Not really! They would ask you acads-based questions and if you can answer those, then no problem. At least you should be able to answer the basic/medium level questions.

Q: How different is XAT from others like CAT, SNAP, IIFT, ICET, etc?

XAT is quite similar to CAT in terms of the course, areas covered, b-schools covered, and difficulty level. Other exams like snap are generally easier. it has an essay which other exams don't have.

Q: What are the guidelines while giving the exam - for each section?

For the section on Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation, a good Preparation for CAT should be more than sufficient. For the section on Analytical Reasoning Decision Making, it would be advisable for students to revise concepts pertaining to Puzzles and Decision making Questions. They should especially focus on practicing the Distribution based puzzles. For the section on Verbal Logical Ability, it would be advisable for students to revise concepts pertaining to RC, Sentence correction, Vocab based questions (words confused), Para formation, Logical reasoning questions (especially on identifying argument structure and argument elements, and inference based questions). Students should also focus on Figures of Speech as there have been questions on identifying metaphors, oxymorons, personification, etc. in previous years' XAT papers.

(Expert: Kapil Verma, Regional Head (Academics) in T.I.M.E. Delhi)

Times of India

Xavier's Aptitude Test - exam tips and preparation methods

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